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Lost In Crimson

by: George L Smyth

Publication date: 2016

Usage: Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0

Topics: Chorus, Racket In My Head, Clarinet, Violas, Cellos, String Bass, disquiet0259

"Max was pondering the important issue of how petrogylphs differed from hieroglyphs when the radio halted its roll at the very far end of the electronic dial. After a brief silence, the weak signal transmitted indistinct sounds, like whispers, intermingled with an odd chanting that faded in and out like a spectral dirge. Intrigued by this strange combination, and hoping for a broadcast of a lonely Indian powwow, Max turned up the volume, but the higher it went, the softer the voice and chant became, going silent. There was no apparent signal, but the radio scan was still stopped, locked in on something." - from "Transmission" by T.E. Grau

When I was active with Ham Radio I eventually worked all 50 states and about 80 countries while running low power. When a signal would appear from a country where few people were Hams there would be huge competition for contact. Attempting to separate the intended signal from others who were applying thousands of watts of power was a real challenge, but after a while concentration would kick in and the faint Morse Code would dis-join itself from the melee.

This is what I was thinking about while putting together Lost In Crimson, my eyes closed, listening for the specific pitch of the signal I was attempting to extract from the crowd, hoping to hear my call sign in response to my CQ.

The music and score are Creative Commons and can be found at http://glsmyth.com/music/